PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Globally 25-30% (450.000 to 650.000 Megatons) of carbon stored in ecosystems is found in peatlands, twice as much carbon as in forests. Peatland degradation, however, leads to the decomposition and mineralisation of peat and consequently to the release of the stored carbon in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2). According toGlobal Peatland Assessment, there are at least 500 000 km2 of degraded peatlands worldwide, releasing 2 billion tonnes of CO2-eq/yr worldwide, a figure that is estimated to be increasing by 2% per year. Degraded peatlands are estimated to account for some 5-6% of all CO2 emissions from anthropogenic activities and around 30% of CO2 emissions caused by land use and its transformation.
The post-2020 international climate agreement of 2013 obliges signatories to report emissions and removals from peatland drainage and rewetting and to create national greenhouse gas inventories. This is an important step, but there is still a need for a comprehensive and unified strategy for restoring degraded peatlands that would form part of an EU-wide climate policy.
OBJECTIVES
The overall objective of the LIFE Peat Restore project was to reduce CO2 emissions by restoring degraded peatlands and providing guidelines for decision-makers and conservationists. The project aimed to:
- Restore degraded peatland sites;
- Measure the change in greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands before and after restoration and model fluxes using both direct measurements and the Greenhouse Gas Emission Site Types (GEST) approach;
- Produce a handbook on how to carry out restoration and best manage the restored peatlands; and
- Create guidelines with best practice scenarios for peatland use in relation to the EU climate policy and legislation.
The restoration of degraded peatlands was aimed be carried out in five countries in the North European Lowland on the Baltic coast – Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The handbook and guidelines were expected to inform the decision-making process of politicians, authorities and conservation managers responsible for the use of peatlands.
The project’s objective was to contribute to climate change mitigation in the project countries as well as to EU climate policy and mitigation-related goals in the area of land use (LULUCF) by providing robust carbon data from peatlands. Finally, the project aimed to transfer the experiences gained to other European and non-European countries with similar peatland formations and climate conditions.
RESULTS
LIFE Peat Restore reduced greenhouse gas emissions by restoring degraded peatlands in the lowlands of northern Europe. Degraded peatlands were restored in Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
The project team restored more than 5 300 ha of degraded peatlands. They estimated that this action reduced the Global Warming Potential by around 30% from all the sites. This amounts to 14 500 tons CO2-eq per year, which is equivalent to the emissions of a medium-sized vehicle driving a distance about 154 times to the moon and back
All the project partners conducted pre-restoration monitoring, as the basis for assessing the effectiveness of restoration measures. The bird species inventories conducted in the Estonian site – Suursoo-Leidissoo – showed an immediate positive impact of the rewetting measures; breeding pairs of waders increased from 11 to 69 pairs.
Project beneficiary Lithuanian Fund for Nature re-established peat-forming vegetation in the post-harvested site of Aukštumala peatland, to allow a faster regeneration of the bog ecosystem. They extensively reshaped the site, installing a water reservoir and irrigation system, and provided renewable electric power and maintenance services. Lithuanian Fund for Nature also elaborated and gained approval for two new Natura 2000 Management Plans for the Sachara and Pûsèia sites in collaboration with local stakeholders, updated the Management Plan of the Amalvas site, and obtained approval for the restoration of the Aukstumala peat mining site.
The University of Latvia developed, jointly with local stakeholders, two Management Plans for Augstroze and Baltezers Mire Nature Reserves and one Restoration Plan for the Engure Nature Park. In Poland, Klub Przyrodnikow built bridges (totalling 500 m) over the swampiest sections of a trail in the Slowinski National Park. During the project, the multilingual website (https://life-peat-restore.eu/en/), where all the project’s products are available, had more than 64 000 visits. The project was also regularly promoted via coordinating beneficiary NABU’s social media channels, with one post on rewetting measures reaching 134 000 people on these channels. The project’s photo exhibition – Peatlands for climate – toured throughout all five countries, and can also be viewed on the website. The project produced two films and two handbooks for experts.
Furthermore, the project team elaborated the ‘Analyses of the legal regulatory framework of peatland exploitation, draining and restoration’ for Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. LIFE Peat Restore employed more than 60 people during its implementation, and contributed significantly to national economies.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report (see "Read more" section).
